Pier 'giving back' with engraved boards

The director of a pier said it was giving back to the community by offering people the chance to have their names engraved on its boards.

Work is ongoing to restore Claremont Pier in Lowestoft, Suffolk, and lay down new boards.

As part of the plans people are able to sponsor a board with a choice of name or message engraved which will then be installed on to the pier.

Director of the pier, Ben Llywelyn, said the idea had been popular since it first started a few years ago.

"When we first started it, it was absolutely crazy. People love it," he said.

"For instance now we've got a few people who have bought the boards for loved ones who were fisherman [and] spent most of their lives on the North Sea and now they've got a place to remember them.

"There's no better feeling than giving something back to the community and reopening the pier.

"Everyone should be able to walk down a pier and for 40 years local people haven't."

Mr Llywelyn said about 1,000 boards were created in the first wave of the project and in the current wave they had sold 200 which cost £99 per board.

The restoration team has almost restored 60m (196.85 ft) worth of the pier's length.

The end of the pier was closed in 1982 and remained so for 40 years.

"The last little bit will take a bit more money to do and a lot more time," Mr Llywelyn added.

"It would be brilliant to restore the far end and to even go out further would be even more fantastic.

"Nothing's impossible if you put a bit of hard work in and think outside the box."

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